A Huge, Strange-Looking Fish Washed up on a California Beach. Scientists Say It’s a First

The seven-foot fish washed up at UC Santa Barbara's Coal Oil Point Reserve in Southern California last week. The mouth of the fish has a unique look, said Thomas Turner, an evolutionary biologist. Thomas Turner/CNN

This is the extraordinary tale of how a massive, strange-looking fish wound up on a beach on the other side of the world from where it lives. The seven-foot fish washed up at UC Santa Barbara’s Coal Oil Point Reserve in Southern California last week. Researchers first thought it was a similar and more common species of sunfish—until someone posted photos on a nature site and experts weighed in.

What transpired after that surprised researchers from California to Australia and New Zealand.